NAMES

Grey River Argus, 15 December 1937, Page 12

NAMES

NEW ONES FOR OLD. Pekin is much in the North China news these days, but now they call it Peiping. New names for old. There are no Persian rugs any more, 'inis year they are Iranian ’ rugs instead, for Persia has changed her name to Iran, and wants us all to remember that. The name Iran has ancient glories attached to it, and hence it has been revived. Also, Constantinople is Istanbul—or'so the Turks declare in-

sistently. Petersburg has long been Leningrad, swapping Czar Peter the Great, city founder, for the red leader. Nazis still call it Petersburg sometimes, to be rude. Italy to-day is the Fascist Empire of the Year XVI, the Year I being 1922, when blackshirts marched on Rome. The word Italy itself is beginning lo acquire mere provincial significance as Mussolini goes on to glory. Rumania is now Romania, recalling the Roman heritage of this latinic outpost of Emperor Trajan’s legions. Ireland returns to Gaelic Eire under the 1937 De Valera constitution, and Gaelic, too, is the official language of Eire, ' De Valera makes

speeches in it; it is taught in all schools. Norwegian Christiania has changed back to good old pagan Osla. Russian Czaritzin on the Volga, is now Stalingrad, called after the dietator. ‘ v Japan to-day is officially Nippon,' and indeed the word Japan was originally a bad occidental corruption of Nippon. ’There is now no Russia, but only a Union of the Soviet. Socialist Repub, lies, shortened to U.S.S.R. 4 Meanwhile, the dictator of the Dominican “republic” changes the name of his ancient and honourable capital 1496 San Domingo, to Trujillo Cityafter himself! I